Hickey shows Mudryk and Arsenal that he's the real deal

Robin Bairner

• 21 Sept 2022 22:08 BST
• 3 min read

Scotland produced a powerful 3-0 victory over Ukraine on Wednesday to top Nations League Group B.

It might have been an evening to savour the talents of ‘the Ukrainian Neymar’, Mykhaylo Mudryk.

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Instead, the Shakhtar Donetsk winger, who has been closely linked with a transfer to Arsenal, found himself entirely peripheral to the match.

There was a dashing surge in the first couple of minutes that threatened to set the tone for the evening, but after that was snuffed out amid a little panic in the Scots’ defence, he found himself outshone by another player who has been linked with the Emirates club.

Hickey outshines Mudryk

Aaron Hickey only arrived on the field as a replacement for the injured Nathan Patterson midway through the first half, but the full-back gave an accomplished performance on the right of the defence.

It was all the more remarkable given that he is by nature a left-back. The Brentford player, though, continued to enhance his burgeoning reputation after a summer move to the London club from Bologna with a formidable display on the right of the defence.

Of course, he is unlikely to earn much of the spotlight after goals from John McGinn and a double from Lyndon Dykes, who scored twice off the bench, but in snuffing out Mudryk so comprehensively, there can be little doubt that this was another step towards the elite for the young defender.

Hickey set for the very top

And he was tested in this game. Mudryk showed a willingness to play wide at all costs, yet Hickey showed remarkable poise in positioning himself well throughout. On the rare occasions that Ukraine threatened, he was on hand to deal with the danger, alert to the threat both out wide from the winger and down the channel from midfield runners.

He won 75% of his ground duels, his only aerial duel and won two fouls while playing without conceding one.

He even came close to scoring, pouncing on a loose ball at the edge of the box before unleashing a shot that was deflected narrowly past.

Arsenal might not have come calling this summer, but they will no doubt have been keeping an eye on Mudryk in this match – but it will have been Hickey who impressed them.